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WHO'S WHO IN YOGA


Babaji, 203 - present

Babaji is famed in Yoga as the oldest and least seen yogi of this epoch. There are many who believe his existence to be only a legend, although he is reputed to be the founder of the Kriya Yoga system of today's Self-Realization Fellowship, founded by Paramahansa Yogananda. He is recorded as being born November 30, in the year 203, making him 1800 years old. Reports continue to surface of sightings and meetings with Babaji. It is said that in 1954, at his ashram near Badrinath, in the Garwhal Himalayas, Babaji initiated S.A.A. Ramaiah into a complete system of 144 kriyas. Others have reported seeing him as late as October of 1999. He is said to be associated with the mysterious Gyanganj (Jnanaganj) hermitage somewhere in Tibet -- a secret place of great masters.


Lahiri Mahasaya, 1828 - 1898

He was born Shyama Chavam Lahiri; Mahasaya is a Sanskrit title and means "magnanimous." Lahiri Mahasaya was a contemporary of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and direct disciple of the legendary Babaji. He was the guru of Sri Yukteswar, who was the guru of Paramahansa Yogananda in the Kriya Yoga system. Renowned for his kindness and gentleness, he was one of the few great yogis who attained both spiritual reaslisation, and at the same time continued his responsibilities as a familiy man.

At the age of 33, near Ranikhet in the Himalayas, he met his guru Babaji, who revealed to him the ancient missing form of Kriya Yoga and instructed him to initiate any sincere seekers who may be interested. Thus the dissemination of Kriya Yoga began in the year 1861.


Sri Yukteswar, 1855 - 1936

Born as Priya Nath Karar on May 10, 1855, in Serampore, India, Sri Yukteswar Giri married and fathered a daughter. He joined the Swami order after his wife's death and converted his family home into a religious hermitage where Yogananda and other disciples studied. Yogananda called Sri Yukteswar a "Jnanavatar", or "incarnation of wisdom."


Yogananda Paramahansa, 1893 - 1952

Mukunda Lal Ghosh, born on January 5, 1893, and better known as Paramahansa Yogananda, met his guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri, in 1910, at the age of 17. After graduating from Calcutta University in 1915, he took formal vows into the monastic Swami order. Twenty years later his guru conferred upon him the title Paramahansa, which is traditionally reserved for those yogin's who have been celibate since childhood.

After founding and running a school for boys in Ranchi, India, where modern educational techniques, Yoga training, and spiritual ideals were taught, Yogananda taught in the West from 1920 until his death in 1952, where he founded the Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF), headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

In 1946, he published his life story, Autobiography of a Yogi, which was key in introducing Yoga to the West. It has since been translated into almost all languages of the world, and remains a perennial bestseller. This Bengali yogi and guru is loved for his candid love for the Divine and was revered by his followers as a "Premavatar", or "incarnation of love."


Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, 1836-1886

Sri Ramakrishna was born Gadadhar Chattopadhyay in 1836 at Kamarpukur, about 60 miles from Calcutta. He was an unconventional youth, refusing to be educated because of a lack of interest in money. He spontaneously reached states of ecstasy even as a child. At an early age he became priest of the Kali Temple of Dakshineswar, and began in earnest the sadhana of the Goddess. After having had thus a vision of the Goddess, he studied with other teachers including a famous female Tantric guru called Bhairavi Brahmani, and eventually a sage named Totapuri took him to the final stage of enlightenment. His great interest and mission was to teach the Truth of all world religions. His foremost disciple was Swami Vivekananda who took over his mission.


Sarada Devi, 1853 - 1920

Sarada Devi was the wife and spiritual consort of Ramakrishna. When she was just five or six years of age, she was asked who would she like to marry, and at once she pointed to Sri Ramakrishna sitting not far away. Similarly, Ramakrishna, then 23, was certain she was the only wife for him. After their marriage in the year 1859, the young bride remained at her parents', and Sri Ramakrishna went back to the Kali Temple at Dakshineswar (the bride would join her husband after she attained a mature age, as was the custom). When she finally joined him, Sri Ramakrishna initiated her in the secret Tantric techniques. One day, during a religious festival, he publically transfigured his wife as the Goddess of the Universe. During the worship both Sri Ramakrishna and Sarada Devi went into deep samadhi. She, in her turn, accepted her husband as her spiritual guru and became the first disciple of this great spirit. Sarada Devi and Ramakrishna form one of the most beautiful examples of a truly spiritual relationship.


Swami Vivekananda, 1863 - 1902

Swami Vivekananda, born Narendranath Dutta, in Kolkata on January 12, 1863, is considered one of the most famous and influential spirits from the Hindu religion. He became famous as Swami Vivekananda, after he became the chief disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, who transmitted to him by grace the state of samadhi, which gave him a great spiritual understanding. He applied spirituality even to politics and taught globally about Vedantic philosophy, including a famous speech at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago, 1893.


Nisargadatta Maharaj 1897-1981

Nisargadatta Maharaj was born on Hanuman's birthday, in March 1897. He was given the name, Maruti, in honor of Hanuman. After his father died, in 1915, Maruti followed his oldest brother to Bombay. In 1924 he married Sumatibai and with her became the parent of three daughters and a son. He opened a bidi shop, which gradually became quite prosperous.

Through a friend he met his guru, Sri Siddharameshwar. Although Maruti was moved by the teaching, he felt it was beyond him. He was given a mantra initiation and instructions on how to meditate. His practice became serious from 1933-1936.

Sri Siddharameshwar died in 1936 and this evoked in Maruti a strong feeling of renunciation which he acted upon. He abandoned his family and bidi businesses and left for the Himalayas. On his way, he met a brother disciple, who convinced him of the shortcomings of a totally unworldly life and the greater spiritual fruitfulness of dispassion in action. So he returned to his family and became Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, devoting all his free time to meditation on his guru's instruction. He reached full enlightenment and gave Vedantic teachings, being best known through his book "I Am That."


Ma Ananda Moyi, 1896 - 1982

Ma Ananda Moyi was born Nirmala Sundari, on April 30, 1896, in an obscure village in the Bangladesh area of India. According to those present at the birth, baby Nirmala illumined the cottage by the extraordinary luster of her body, and everyone was surprised that she didn't cry at all. Ma Ananda Moyi lived a simple life, always following her inner divine guidance. She is considered to have been enlightened from birth and therefore had no particular technical teachings, but inspired people to turn to spirituality through her presence. She was constantly on the move throughout her long life, visiting her devotees and attracting all by her spiritual magnetism, until her death on August 28 1982.


Ramana Maharshi, 1879-1950

Sri Ramana Maharshi, named Venkataraman at birth, was born on December 30, 1879. It was apparently by accident that Venkataraman heard about Arunachala when he was 16 years of age. The very name Arunachala acted as a magic spell on him as a holy place worth seeking. In the year 1896, he had an intense spiritual experience that involved a sudden and overwhelming fear of death. He went into the experience and it became the death of his ego, which invoked a flood of Self-awareness. Soon after, he left home for Arunachala to pursue a purely spiritual life. He spent his time in deep meditation, often entering high states of consciousness and samadhi. Eventually he settled on the slopes of Arunachala and his followers built an ashram around him. He answered their questions and commented on the spiritual works they presented him, but always with the same simple issue, pointing to the source of our thoughts summed up in the question: "Who am I?"


Swami Sivananda, 1887 - 1963

Swami Sivananda was born in Pattamadai, South India, as Kuppuswami. He went to medical school in Tanjore and then took up a job as a doctor in Malaysia. Although he was a very successful doctor, when his wife died he renounced the world, went back to India, and became a Swami. Swami Sivananda performed austerities for many years and became enlightened through an intensive Yoga practice. Even so, he continued to help the sick, and after his serious sadhana, he continued extensive charitable efforts for giving natural Ayurvedic medicine and spiritual literature to the people.


Sri Aurobindo, 1872 - 1950

Sri Aurobindo was born on the August 15, 1872, in Calcutta. As a child of 7 he was sent to England for his education. There he studied at St. Paul's in London and at King's College, Cambridge, where he mastered not only English but also Greek, Latin, and French. On his return to India at age 21, he studied intensely Indian culture, and became active in the struggle for Indian freedom. Because of his political activity, from 1908 to 1909 Sri Aurobindo was kept under detention by the British government. During this year of seclusion he underwent a series of decisive spiritual experiences which set him on the spiritual path. He said after his release: "The only result of the wrath of the British government was that I found God."

In 1910, Sri Aurobindo withdrew from the political field and went to Pondicherry to devote himself entirely to his evolving spiritual mission. His spiritual partner, known as "the Mother", joined him in 1920. Together they established the Sri Aurobindo Ashram where he dedicated himself to his voluminous writings.

Sri Aurobindo affirms that all life is Yoga and that man has a greater destiny awaiting him, and through a conscious aspiration he can evolve into a higher being and can open himself to a new consciousness, which he called the Supramental.


Mahatma Gandhi, 1869 - 1948

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, often called "Mahatma" (great soul) Gandhi, and known to Indians as the "father of the nation", was a key political figure in the Indian independence movement. His purity and strength to follow strictly the principle of non-violence led to the only non-violent revolution in known history. He is considered to be a great karma yogi and many believe he reached spiritual liberation in the moment of his untimely death through martyrdom.


Lalleshvari, 1320 – 1392

Lalleshvari, also known as Lalla, was born in Pandrenthan, southeast of Srinagar. She was married at an early age, but her marriage was unhappy and she left home at 26 to become a disciple of the Shaivite guru Siddha Srikantha. She reached enlightenment and began singing songs to Shiva, dancing naked, and expressing her divine ecstasy in unconventional ways. Lalleshvari was very influential in shaping Kashmiri culture and attitudes to life and religion. She came along after the Islamic conquest of Kashmir, which disrupted its high tradition in philosophy and arts, and her sayings constituted a memory of the Kashmiri classical age in popular consciousness. Her verses are the earliest compositions in the Kashmiri language that have come down to us.


Meister Eckhart, 1260 - 1328

Meister Eckhart was a German theologian, philosopher, and mystic who reached insight into the supreme Truth through Christian prayer and contemplation. He expressed himself both in learned Latin for the clergy in his tractates, and more famously in German vernacular in his sermons. His insights into the nature of spiritual life, the journey of the soul, and the effort required to reach spiritual heights are amazingly parallel to the insights of the yogins and Yogic philosophy. His manner of expression was simple yet abstract, and bold enough to almost get him tried for heresy in his last years. He died before a verdict was reached, but considered himself a submissive child of the Church until the end.


Milarepa, 1052 - 1135

Milarepa is famous as Tibet's "greatest yogin", having reached full enlightenment and many paranormal powers after decades of severe austerities and intensive Yoga practice. He practiced Mahamudra meditation and a potent Yoga from the lineage of his gurus, starting in India with Tilopa and Naropa, and coming to Tibet with his direct guru Marpa the translator. He was motivated to do intense spiritual practice because he was terrified of facing the karma he had from murdering 35+ people with black magic. He didn't rest until he was liberated for fear of dying with such a karma. His teachings founded the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, headed today by the Karmapas.


Abhinavagupta, 975 - 1025

Abhinavagupta was perhaps Kashmir's greatest sage and philosopher and all India's greatest tantric master ever. He is considered to be the only historical avatara of Shiva, and possessed the eight great siddhis. After attaining full liberation through the tantric methods of Kashmir Shaivism, he synthesized and expounded the Shaivist philosophy in some of the greatest works of that tradition. He solved some of the philosophical disputes at that time and many great works, not yet understood by today's scholars, are attributed to him.

Matsyendranath, 9th - 10th century

One of the 84 mahasiddhas, Siddha Matsyendranath was the son of a fisherman Mina, and he overheard the secrets of Hatha Yoga from Shiva himself, whilst trapped in the belly of a fish. Matsyendranath practiced intensely Hatha Yoga, became enlightened, and had great disciples, most notably Caurangi and Gorakshanath, the latter even surpassing his master in transmitting the Hatha Yoga lineage. Matsyendranath also did a lot to organize the Yogic orientation of the Naths.


Adi Sankaracarya, 788 - 820

Adi Sankaracarya was a great Hindu mystic and scholar who made the greatest revival of Indian philosophy and spirituality in his short life of 32 years. It is because of this man that a country almost entirely Buddhist became once again almost entirely Hindu. He wrote commentaries on Badarayana's Brahmasutras, the various Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. These commentaries, called Bhashyas, stand at the pinnacle of Indian philosophical writing, and have triggered a long tradition of subcommentaries known as Varttikas, Tikas, and Tippanis. He also commented upon the Adhyatma-Patala of the Apastamba sutras, and on Vyasa's Bhashya to Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. He won many disciples through his power in spiritual debate.


Patanjali, 3rd century B.C.

Patanjali was a great philosopher and Sanskrit grammarian. He was also an Ayurvedic physician and a medical work is attributed to him. However, his best known work is his Yoga Sutras, the first fundamental work putting the practical tradition of Yoga on paper. He describes and defines many aspects of the path of Yoga, including its goals, the basic foundation of its practice, and the paranormal powers (siddhis) that can be reached through Yoga.


Jesus Christ 8 – 2 B.C. - 29 – 36 A.D.

While the life of Jesus the Christ has many uncertain elements and is controversial among historians of religions, it is undisputed that he was a great spirit, best evidenced in the strength of the Christian following, the Christian saints and martyrs. Many yogins, notably Paramahansa Yogananda, believe that Jesus spent the middle years of his life studying mysticism and spirituality in India among the Buddhists, Vedantin priests, and Jains. He then returned to Judea and fulfilled perhaps the greatest spiritual mission of anyone in known history by taking the spiritual karma of humanity onto himself, through full sacrifice. Among others, he introduced to spirituality the idea of sharing karma, as seen in the Boddisattva ideal of Mahayana Buddhism, which appeared only long after his life.


Siddhartha Gautama the Buddha, 560 - 480 B.C.

Born a prince of India, at the age of 29 Siddhartha Gautama made the great renunciation of palace, parents, wife, and child to find a lasting solution for the suffering of humanity. For six years he practiced serious Yogic austerities without final results to satisfy him. He realized his practice was too extreme and inferred the "middle path," which for him meant sitting without moving for 72 hours until he reached full Enlightenment. He then "turned the Wheel of Dharma" and began teaching the truth he had discovered, thus founding the great religion of Buddhism.


Krishna, 3228 - 3102 B.C.

Krishna is considered to be one of the few avatars, or direct incarnations of Godhead. Mythologically, Lord Krishna appeared on the midnight of the eighth day of the dark half of the month of Sravana, which would correspond to July 19, 3228 B.C.; however, traditionally in India his birthday is clelbrated on 14 August.

The early pastimes of Lord Krishna in Vrindavan included the dance of love (Rasa-Lila) with the gopis (as many as 16,000 cow girls, illustrating the Tantric practice and extraordinary intimacy that can be had with God). At the age of 90, he was a charioteer in the great civil war of India between the royal families of that time, and on the battlefield he told the entire Bhagavad Gita, literally the "Song of God," to his friend and disciple, the great warrior Arjuna. These legends are recorded in the epic Mahabharata, and his life story is told in Srimad Bhagavatam, literally "the beautiful book of God."

He disappeared on February 18, 3102 B.C., on the new moon night of Phalguna. (His departure marks, according to some, the beginning of the current age of corruption, known as Kali Yuga.)